Anyone who teaches in our program has spend one full term of the course they are to teach, mentoring with a more experienced teacher. The lead teacher is paid a small stipend to provide an average of 1/2 hour/week towards orienting the new teacher both in content, classroom management and administrative policies/procedures.
Once they are contracted to begin teaching, they are provided further orientation with the Director of Education and the Dean of Students.
In the first term of their teaching we provide them with a "first term teacher mentor" who also is paid a small stipend to devote an average of 1/2 hour per week to support them through their first term.
I think that familiarity and synchrony with the school culture and philosophy, academic and administrative policies and procedures and sufficient comfort within the community are the crucial elements of an effective orientation program.
They get a full tour of building, intro to equipment, meet staff and faculty. They tend to do some days shadowing other instructors and getting a feel for how the classroom is run and managed. They also attend trainings in areas they will teach with feedback.
We use a comprehensive orientation program. We have instructors come in as a group and we review the catalog, policies and procedures, operations, classrrom management, etc. Books, curriculum, knowledge of proper attendance submission and other various tools for preparation are important. Occasionally instructors are put in classrooms without proper orinetation and when that happens they seem never to be fully caught up. This leads to turnover. We also assign mentors , experienced instructors, for the new hires to reach out to with questions as well.
Elaine,
Some of your peers ask new instructors to come in and sit in on classes before the new term begins. What do you think of this idea?
Jeffrey Schillinger
We usually set a day for new teacher orientation . They are introduced to everyone, tour of the school, someone comes in talks to them about benefits, etc, introduced to team leads and other teachers, go over procedures and expectations.
Time for questions and answers, they get their login id's.
That same week we begin professional development training.
These are all good points, Ligia. Thank you for sharing them.
The first several days on the job are crucial in the success of new employees.
Orientation training should emphasize the following topics:
The company's history and mission.
The key members in the organization.
The key members in the department, and how the department helps fulfill the mission of the company.
Personnel rules and regulations.
Our orientation process was recently revamped and I think it is really helping new faculty become assimilated. From the time and instructor signs their offer letter to the day they actually start teaching, it can be 4-6 weeks. During this time they usually meet with the Program Director to go over her expectations of them in the classroom and many of the schools policies on attendance, grading, etc. Then, sometimes on another day, I will meet with them to go over their specific assignments and give them the syllabi, books and other resources they may need. Throughout this process I am always checking in with them via phone or email to ensure that all their questions are being answered. Then they usually meet with the Office Manager who handles all new hire paperwork, payroll, etc. If time and the schedule permits I will have the new instructor sit in on a faculty meeting and a class they will be teaching.
Since not all instructors teach theory classes with grades, we usually don’t introduce the grading system or grade entry system until they are assigned a class. Also, some items I will touch on in our first meeting and then re-iterate through email or at another time to ensure that it is fully understood.
I normally like to have the instructors come by the school before the students are in session and while they are in class. I introduce them to the staff and students, let them sit in on a class that I am teaching and try to fill them in on the learning styles of each of the students. I have a small school, so the instructor gets to know the students quickly. All of the staff will pitch in and help the new instructor get settled into their new position.
My school has a multiple orientation process. The first orientation is in two parts and takes place prior to starting the quarter, The first half is a combination of academic applications and processes and the second half deals with the administrative processes such as human resource applications such as rules, regulations, payroll and benefits. The second orientation process deals with the overall company coulture, policies and procedures, opportunities and resources available to new employees. Each of these sessions are extreamly helpful to the new instructor or employee and sets the stage for effective operations and future growth.
All faculty members must complete the individual faculty orientation. Attend four online training sessions:
1. General Overview of the School -- History, Mission, Culture, Policies and Procedures
2. Curricula and Projects
3. Research and Benchmarking
4. Juried Review Process
Faculty members must also audit a class prior to teaching.
Jeff,
There may be more things that you can do to orient a new faculty member. I recommend you read through some of the more recent posts in this section for ideas.
I bring them to the classroom they will be teaching in and introduce them to the other instructor(s) they will be working with within the same department. I show them the curriculum binders they will be using, the visual aids we use. The same day I call a staff meeting and introduce the new hire to the rest of the staff.
We give the new hire a quite comprehensive orientation on their first day to work at our school. First of all get them familiar with our environment by touring them around showing them the teaching equipment they can get access to and talk to group of faculty members in our conference room. He or she is most welcome to sit in any of the classes. The new instructor will get copies of our school catalog, faculty handbook, and a clinic manual where all the school policies and procedures listed including their expectations and benefits. A copy of the syllabus of the course he or she is teaching will be also given and all the necessary documents are signed and copied. We also let the new hire know that our school offers CEU courses for the license renewal. One of the benefits is they don't have to pay for these courses. All these components are crucial.
we aslo have been bringing the instructors in early to follow others in class, teach them about grading, policies and other reporting responsibilities.
Thanks, Billy. I appreciate your participation in all of the ED201 discussion forums.
We give a tour of the facility and explain the culture in which we operate after the presentation. We also designate a time for the instructor to come back in to set up a time for them to do a classroom observation with one of our instructors, get all of their teaching materials, go over the portals, etc. We use the actual orientation to fill out all of the paperwork.
We have them come in and fill out the employment packets. We pretty much go in order. We make sure they get their syllabi, a course catalog, and a Harrison pen. These oreintations are done by the program coordinators. By the end of the orientation the instructors look like they can't make it home. We have to do something to make the process more enjoyable.
Cissi,
Thank you for your effort while in this course. Your posts have been quite good and should help others who take this course.
Susan,
Thank you for the fine contributions you have made to the discussion forums throughout the this course. Others will definitely benefit from your posts. Building a bench is a lot of work, but that work can really pay off.
